Gingerbread Folks

Makes Eighteen 5 by 3 inch cookies

Oven Temperature: 350°F/175°C

Baking Time: 10 to 12 minutes for each of two batches

Baking Equipment: Two 15 by 12 inch cookie sheets, preferably nonstick, or lightly coated with nonstick cooking spray

Gingerbread man and woman cookie cutters, 5 inches high by about 3 inches wide

A disposable pastry bag and small round piping tip

Optional: a wooden skewer.

Gingerbread men and women cookies hanging from the tree or sitting on the mantel are a charming holiday tradition. Ginger is not only an appealing spicy flavor, it serves as a great preservative. Of course, the dough can be cut into any desired shape and decorated with royal icing and candies.

Makes 490 grams dough

unsalted butter	85 grams	6 tablespoons (¾ stick)
½ large egg	25 grams	1½ tablespoons (22.5 ml)
light molasses, preferably Grandma’s	80 grams	¼ cup (59 ml)
bleached all-purpose flour	212 grams	1¾ cups (lightly spooned into the cup and leveled off)
baking soda	2.7 grams	½ teaspoon
fine sea salt	.	⅛ teaspoon
ground ginger	2.2 grams	1 teaspoon
ground cinnamon	.	½ teaspoon
nutmeg, freshly grated	.	¼ teaspoon
ground cloves	.	⅛ teaspoon
dark brown sugar, preferably dark Muscovado	91 grams	⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon, firmly packed
Royal Icing, for decoration	530 grams	2¼ cups
décor: raisins, currants, and/or candies	.	.

Mise en Place

▪ Thirty minutes ahead, cut the butter into ½ inch cubes. Wrap and refrigerate.

▪ Into a 1 cup measure with a spout, weigh or measure the egg and cover.

▪ Lightly coat another 1 cup measure with a spout with nonstick cooking spray, weigh or measure the molasses into it, and cover.

▪ Into a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Whisk to mix evenly.

Make the Dough

1. In a food processor, process the brown sugar until very fine.

2. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture begins to clean the sides of the bowl.

3. Add the molasses and egg and process until smoothly incorporated. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.

4. Add the flour mixture and pulse just until the dough begins to clump together.

Chill the Dough

5. Scrape the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap and use the wrap to press the dough together to form a ½ inch thick disc. Wrap it with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours, up to overnight.

Preheat the Oven

▪ Twenty minutes or longer before baking, set an oven rack at the middle level. Set the oven at 350ºF/175ºC.

Roll the Dough and Cut the Cookies

6. Set the dough on a well-floured dough mat or sheet of plastic wrap. Lightly flour the dough and cover it with plastic wrap. Roll the dough ⅛ inch thick.

7. Use cookie cutters to cut out the shapes. Dip the cutters in flour every few cuts to prevent sticking. Gently brush off any flour on top of the dough. Gather up and press together the scraps to reroll. Wrap and refrigerate the scraps until firm.

8. With a small offset metal spatula or pancake turner, lift the cut dough onto a cookie sheet, placing the cutouts about 1 inch apart. If planning to hang the cookies, use the blunt end of a wooden skewer to make a hole at the top of each cookie.

Bake the Cookies

9. Bake for 5 minutes. If the holes become too small as the dough bakes, set the cookie sheet on a wire rack and reopen them with the end of the wooden skewer. For even baking, rotate the cookie sheet halfway around. Continue baking for 5 to 7 minutes, or until firm to the touch and just beginning to color around the edges.

Cool the Cookies

10. Set the cookie sheet on a wire rack and use a thin pancake turner to lift the cookies onto another wire rack to cool completely.

11. Reroll the scraps to make the second batch; cut, bake, and let cool.

Decorate the Cookies

12. Use royal icing to attach decorative elements such as pieces of raisins, currants, or cinnamon red hots or other candy to the dough. The royal icing can be piped onto the cookies for attractive details. If necessary, use a lightly moistened brush to correct imperfections.

Store Airtight: room temperature, 3 months; frozen, 6 months.

Baking Pearl

If the dough should soften after cutting, cover and refrigerate before lifting the cut dough off the surface to maintain the cookies’ shape.

Make This Recipe Your Own

If you enjoy thicker, softer cookies, roll the dough ¼ inch thick and bake just until they are set but still slightly soft when gently pressed with a fingertip, about 8 minutes.

Making Gingerbread Folks

Cut out shapes from the rolled dough.

Transfer the cut dough to the prepared cookie sheet.

To hang the cookies, make a hole at the top.

Decorate the baked cookies with royal icing and candies.